


The Wayward Children

by The_annoying_fangirl



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Children, Fluff and Angst, Orphans, daughter - Freeform, makeshift family, the doctors daughter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 05:48:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18440291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_annoying_fangirl/pseuds/The_annoying_fangirl
Summary: Four children live alone in an abandoned building and for some reason the Doctor can't stop running into them. There's something weird about this, and he's going to figure it out. What he discovers just might change the course of his and the girls lives for ever.





	The Wayward Children

  
Lyra stood on the end of the street, staring curiously at the box ahead of her. It was large and the wood had been painted a dark blue. She recognized it from History lessons on the 1950s, the big blue boxes that once lined the streets waiting for someone in need to run in and phone the police. It was out of place here, standing in Modern Central Cardiff big and in the middle of everything. Yet, it blended in too. No one seemed to notice or care that it was there, but Lyra noticed everything, especially things out of place, and this object bugged her. If not for the fact that it hadn't been there a few hours earlier, she would have been fine, but now there it was, as if it had just appeared out of nowhere.

She moved across the pavement towards the strange object. It was pretty, in a weird intriguing way. She ran her hand along the edge of it in wonder, feeling the smooth wood underneath her calloused fingers. Something about it seemed familiar and, as she touched it, it was almost as if it was purring in appreciation. Though, she had to be imagining that. It was a box, not a cat.

"Can I help you?" she turned, dropping her hand, to see a man and woman looking at her expectantly. The man was tall and scrawny, a large trench coat hanging over his frame and hair that stuck out every which way. The woman was much shorter than him, straight ginger hair going a few inches past her shoulders and a brown leather jacket hugging her body.

"This your box? It wasn't here earlier. What's it for?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, it's a- uh- project... film." he said with a nod, smiling triumphantly.

"You're a rubbish liar." she chuckled looking back at the box and running her hand down the edge.

The doctor looked the young woman up and down curiously. Starting at her ratty old converse that probably needed to be replaced and ending at the two auburn plaits that hung down her chest. Not many people seemed to notice or care about his TARDIS, but this girl did. In the few cases like hers people typically checked it out and then walked away, on to the next thing, but not her. She was insistent, needy, demanding answers. The doctor put his hand on the back of his neck.

"Ah, it's just my box." he shrugged. The girl raised an eyebrow in a challenging manner.

"Sure it is," she crossed her arms and leaned against it.

"What else would it be?" Donna asked, almost as intrigued by this girl as the doctor was. In the short time she had been traveling with the doctor, she hadn't met anyone who was so curious about the TARDIS. She had found that a bit strange before, wouldn't people point out the strangeness of a big blue box? But now she had grown used to it and this was new. The young girl looked at her and shrugged, pulling herself up off of the TARDIS.

"I dunno. It just... It doesn't seem right." she chewed on her lower lip as she looked at it and after a moment she finally shrugged.

"I guess I'm just being paranoid. Have fun with you... 'film project'." she said, giving them a wave and walking away.

"Has that ever happened before?" Donna questioned the doctor. He stared after the girl in confusion.

"Not exactly..." he shrugged in the same manner the girl had and turned his goofy grin to Donna "Some people are curious I guess. Come on then, we need to meet up with Jack!"

~~~

Lyra weaved her way through the back alleys and over fences until the arrived to the small abandoned house. It wasn't like in the movies, it didn't have any haunted features, it wasn't big and towering with broken windows and spooky noises. It just had overgrown grass and weed in front of it, a crack running through one of the windows on the front, and the inside was completely empty, the walls cracked and chipped. It was nice though, better than the streets... Or the orphanage. She gripped the top of the fence and shoved her trainers into the little holes as she climbed her way up and over, landing on the ground with a thud.

"Guys?" she asked, walking into the house.

"Ly?" Rachel Horace poked her head out of one of the rooms before walking over. Her midnight black hair was pulled into a high ponytail and her piercing green eyes were focused on her friend.

"Where've you been? We expected you home sooner." she said. Lyra shrugged her small rucksack off of her back and tossed it to the side.

"I made a detour and then food took me a bit longer, but I got us some pizza," she kneeled down and opened the back, pulling out a small box.

"It's not much, but it should do." she said.

"The girls are both asleep. We'll give it to 'em in the morning." Rachel suggested. Lyra nodded and carried it into the old kitchen, tossing it on the cracked marble counter.

"That would probably be best, it should help them focus in school." she said.

"Yeah... Did you get anything else?" Rachel asked. Lyra nodded and dumped the contents of her backpack onto the other side of the counter. Two wallets, a debit card, and about twenty pounds.

"This. No job on my part, though I didn't have much time to look today. Tomorrow you'll have to go out of town and draw money before the owner finds out his card missing." Lyra said.

"How far should I go?" she asked. Lyra shrugged.

"I would suggest London... Think you can handle a three hour bus ride?" she asked.

"Sure. Do we have the money for that, though?" she asked. Lyra nodded.

"Yeah, no worries." she opened the wallets and pulled out the cash, a few ten pounds and several ones. She took all of the money and put it in the wooden box against the wall.

"How was job hunting on your end?" she asked. Rachel shrugged.

"The same as always. No address plus my young age so..." she sighed. Lyra frowned.

"I'll be eighteen in a few months, by then we can see about buying this piece of crap, it would probably sell for cheap seeing how it's practically falling apart, and then we can both get jobs." she said.

"I suppose so, but until then? We have two other people to take care of and we're struggling. I'm tired of sending them to school hungry." the other girl sighed. Lyra nodded.

"I know. Me too, but we're doing the best we can and they're both happy to be out of that orphanage." Lyra said.

"I don't know. Sometimes I think we should send them back." she said.

"Rach. They were the youngest there, they were being abused and bullied. They're better off with us." Lyra insisted.

"Okay. Okay. I know..."

"Go to bed, Rachel. Don't worry about things, I've got us covered." Lyra promised, squeezing her hand. The fifteen year old nodded and moved into the back room with the other two girls. She sighed, rubbing her temples before tidying up the little bit there was to tidy.

When she walked into the small back room she looked down at the three sleeping girls, curled up on a pile of old, ratty, blankets and pillows. Opal and Oakley were cuddled into each other for warmth and yet they were still shivering. Lyra shrugged off her coat and draped it over them before laying next to Oakley, opting for a thin sheet so that she could leave the rest to the girls.

Lyra was sixteen when she met Rachel. A scrawny but beautiful fourteen year old girl who had just lost her uncle and last living relative to a murder. Both her parents and her uncle were drug dealers and all three ended in nasty murders from angry clients. She was a frightened kid who spent most of her time avoiding everyone. When Lyra had told off a group of idiot boys that were messing with her, the two became friends.

A few months after that Opal and Oakley, the twins, showed up, they were seven at the time, bright eyed optimists who hadn't yet been tainted by the world. Though the third youngest was twelve which meant everyone loved to pick on the two children. Rachel and Lyra had watched over them and tried to protect them, but things began to get bad. Bruises would cover their skin and the only time the orphanage owners seemed to care was when state was about to show up and they covered the girls from head to toe.

When one boy got a little too excited and tried to take advantage of Opal in ways the little girl would never come back from, enough was enough. Lyra had hit him over the head with the wooden bat they kept in the toy box. He had instantly passed out and she and Rachel quickly gathered the girls and ran. That all happened in a city called Bath. They used the money they stole to hop on a train to Cardiff. It was about 115 miles away and it was so big it was easy to hide, so it worked. So far they hadn't been found and it had been about a year, but it's not like anyone was really looking anyways.

Lyra ran her fingers through Oakley's soft red hair quietly. She and Opal were troopers and strong as heck as far as she was concerned. They took the change and the move as best as they could and tried to help out as much as possible. They were only eight but they were more mature and mentally stronger than most adults. She would protect them. No matter what. That was her last thought as she drifted into a sleep and began to dream.

_The little girl stood in the center of the large library, rows of books surrounded her, the smell of the old pages comforted her as she ran her fingers over the spines. She smiled at pulled out an Agatha Christie novel, her small legs making their way to her favorite chair. A man walked in, looking around before spotting her and smiling._

_“Have you been in here all day?” he questioned. She nodded._

_“Uhuh.” she confirmed. He walked over, lifting her up and sitting down so that she was now in his lap._

_“Why are de w-itt-e gews in de books not smart but I am?” the three year old asked curiously._

_“Because you're not like those little girls. They're not like you.” the man replied._

_“Oh.” with that she turned her attention back to her book and continued to read._

~~~

The Doctor and Donna had finished helping Jack and the rest of Torchwood with their specifically rough alien issue. Now they were sitting at lunch in small Cafe, per the request of Donna, and eating fish and chips.

"Mm, these are some good chips," she grinned. The doctor frowned in disgust.

"Really? I thought they had too much salt." he said.

"Too much salt? You can never have too much salt!" Donna insisted. He smirked and shook his head. Donna looked at something over his shoulder and her eyebrows went up.

"It's that girl from yesterday." she said. He looked behind him to see she was correct. Today her auburn hair was pulled into a high ponytail, but that was the only difference. She was wearing the exact same ragged clothing she had been the day before. This time he really observed her. Her overly large white t-shirt had a dark brown stain on the lower left, her jeans were thin and ripped in the knee, but not in the fashionable, purposeful way, her bag was old and clearly falling apart with the rest of her belongings, the brown bottom fading white as it thinned. Looking at her hair, he wondered if it was actually that dark or if it was just dirty.

"She looks hungry." Donna frowned. The doctor did too, nodding along with his companion. She did. Even through the large t-shirt you could tell she was thin. He could almost see her bones poking through the tight jeans, her cheeks were hollow, and dark bags rested under her eyes. How did he miss all of this the day before?

Because she hid it in her attitude. He realized. He was about to speak when he noticed her rather purposely bump into someone in line who then dropped her purse that she had been rifling through. Her eyes widened in false guilt as she reached down to grab the bag. The older woman waved her off politely, probably assuring her it was fine. The girl smiled sheepishly as she handed over the bag, but not before she expertly reached into the bag and then shoved the object into her back pocket.

"Did she just?"

"Yes. She did." the doctor replied to Donna's unfinished question. He stood and walked over to the girl, following her out of the diner where she was now searching through the contents of the procured wallet. The doctor snatched it out of her hands and she shouted in protest.

"I don't believe this is yours." he said.

"I don't believe it's any of your business." the girl snapped back.

"Do you need money? We can give you some, you don't have to steal." Donna said softly. The girls glare flickered over to the woman.

"No. Just leave me alone." she insisted. The doctor just turned and walked back into the building. The girl huffed and followed him. She watched in anger as he discreetly slipped the wallet back in the woman's purse and ushered the two girls out again.

"Great. Thanks for that. There was a whole fifty pound in there. It would've lasted weeks!" she exclaimed.

"There are other, better, ways to make money." the Doctor said.

"Not when you're only seventeen and don't have an address to put down, Mr. Box-man. Have you been following me?" she asked angrily.

"Nope. Coincidence, great isn't it?" he asked with a smile.

"No. Not when it stops me from buying my dinner." she turned on her heel to walk away but the doctor grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"No wait up. Where's your family? You're too young to be on the streets." he said. She yanked her arm away.

"I don't have to tell you anything." with that she jogged away. He let out a frustrated sigh, running his hand through his hair.

~~~

Lyra slammed the old door behind her, causing it to shake and flecks from the ceiling to rain down on her. She huffed and brushed it off, annoyed. Opal ran over and smiled upon seeing her.

"Lyra!" she exclaimed, running over and hugging her.

"Hey, kiddo." she said, a soft smile gracing her face and she hugged the small child.

"You're early, today. Trying to make up for being late yesterday?" Rachel asked with a smirk. Lyra rolled her eyes as Opal let go of her and she walked into the living room area.

"No. I just had a rough day and decided to just come home. I miss my girls." she said, sitting on the small beanbag. Now Oakley ran over, falling on her lap and burying her head in her chest. Lyra reached up and rubbed her back.

"Hey, Loki, what's the matter?" she frowned as the typically talkative girl just sat there. Her frowned only deepened as Oakley didn't giggle at her favorite nickname.

"Princess?" Lyra bent back as much as she could in the mushy bag and pushed the girl forward some. Oakley just shook her head and went back into the hug. Lyra looked at Rachel with raised eyebrows. The teenager shrugged.

"She hasn't said a word since she got home."

"She said she was sad." Opal said. Lyra nodded and stood, taking Oakley with her. Lyra may have been small and not very strong, but Oakley was a twig and easy to carry. She brought the girl into one of the small bedrooms that they didn't typically occupy. The house had enough rooms that technically each girl could have her own room, but they all preferred to stay together at night. Especially with everyone's nightmares, they were all emotional comfort.

"Oakley, baby, talk to me." she said softly as she sat the child on her feet. Oakley shook her head, looking at her small trainers.

"Look at me." Lyra said. She brought her blue eyes to Lyra's green ones.

"Tell me what happened. I won't be mad. I can't do anything about it if you don't tell me, sweetheart." she insisted. Oakley sniffed and began to cry.

"I- I s-saw the-the man t-take G-grace." she cried.

"Stay calm. Grace from school?" she asked. Oakley nodded.

"Where were you?"

"R-right ou-outside. W-we were gonna- gonna walk ho-ome. We w-were waiting f-for O-opal and R-rachel." she said.

"Who was the man?" she asked, eyebrows beginning to furrow.

"He- he had sh-sharp t-teeth and his e-eyes were sc-ary." she was beginning to get louder.

"Oakley, it's gonna be okay, breathe. How do you know this man wasn't her Daddy?" she asked. Oakley shook her head vigorously.

"G-grace scre-eamed. She didn't want to g-go with him, he g-grabbed her by the-the neck." she cried.

"Where was your teacher?"

"She did-didn't s-see." she developed into full out sobs and Lyra just caught her as she crumbled. The two of them sat on the ground and Lyra ran her hands through her hair, whispering soothing words to her and occasionally kissing her on the head until she had calmed down and wiped at her eyes.

"Hey." Lyra said, Oakley looked up at her. "Don't worry about Grace, I'll take care of it, okay?" she asked. Oakley nodded.

"Come on squirt, we're doing PB&J tonight!" she exclaimed. Oakley nodded and walked out. Lyra knew she was probably tired of PB&J, as was she, but it was cheap and easy so it's what they did.

Rachel looked at Lyra when she walked in, tilting her head towards Oakley who was now back to normal, playing slap Jack with Opal with the old, warn, deck of cards. Lyra shrugged, running a hand through her auburn hair. What exactly was she supposed to do about this newfound information? Was Oakley's imagination just running rampid? She did say the man had 'sharp teeth' and 'scary eyes'. She couldn't exactly go and talk to the school. It was hard enough getting the girls in without getting caught. She sighed.

"Can you get the girls in bed again? I need to talk to him." she said. Rachel stopped where she was making sandwiches and raised her eyebrows.

"What for?" she asked.

"Something Oakley said just doesn't sound right... It's probably nothing but..." she shrugged as she grabbed her old hoodie and slipped it on, playing with the broken zipper.

"Okay. Yeah, of course, I got the girls." she said.

"Thanks." Lyra quickly said goodbye to the twins, giving them each a peck on the head before disappearing out the door. Time to pay a certain Jack Harkness a visit.


End file.
